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(CNN) -- Ed Koch, the brash former New York City mayor who typically greeted constituents with a "How'm I doin'?" died Friday at the age of 88, his spokesman said.

Koch died of congestive heart failure, spokesman George Arzt said. The former mayor felt very tired Thursday morning and was admitted to the intensive care unit, Artz said. Koch lost consciousness that afternoon and passed away around 2 a.m. Friday.

Former New York City Mayor Ed Koch, who passed away today at the age of 88, was in the news until just a few weeks ago, reacting--angrily--to the nomination of former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) as Secretary of Defense. Koch had a visceral understanding of the evil and danger of Islamic terrorism--he had Daniel Pearl's last words inscribed on his tombstone--and in the last few years of his life, he became alarmed at the anti-Israel drift of his Democratic Party, particularly under the leadership of President Barack Obama, whom he felt had betrayed him.

He was better than okay. He was as good a mayor as we could have gotten from the Democratic Party machine in NYC. New York was in freefall when he was elected and he arrested the slide. His sole failing was that he was a Democrat and had to keep the machine happy. He was the kind of Democrat who balanced the patronage and politics with actual governing. RIP

Koch was a good guy. He became more and more conservative as he grew old. RIP.

"The efforts of the government alone will never be enough. In the end the people must choose and the people must help themselves" ~ JFK; from his famous inauguration speech (What Democrats sounded like before today's neo-Liberals hijacked that party)